Brain Injury Treatment and Rehabilitation Today

Joanna Gagis is joined by Dr. Brian Greenwald, Medical Director at the Center for Brain Injuries at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, and John Francisco, a student at Ocean County College and a brain injury survivor, to discuss the importance of brain injury treatment and rehabilitation.

9/9/17 #615

Excerpt:

"Welcome back. In this next segment we're talking all about brain injury. I'm joined right now by Dr. Brian Greenwald, who's the medical director at the Center of Brian Injuries at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute and John Francisco, a student at Ocean County College and a brain injury survivor. Welcome to the program both of you. Thank you. Thank you very much. John, first glad to have you here and to hear that you are a student right now at Ocean County College. In 2014 you were in a car accident that left you with a brain injury, describe the impact that had on you. To keep things short, when I first opened up my eyes and realized I had a brain injury, I was all depressed and stuff, like my life was all amazing you know, not that I wish death on anything or anyone but I was like I would have been remembered better if I passed away instead of the rest of life the way I am. So I was like in a depressed type mood for the first few days when I realized what happen to me. Did you feel a sense of disbar. I would say, but then as time went on instead of me giving up and just being like I was for the rest of my life I kept looking at the bright side of things, so to speak, and I kept urging myself to get better and better. I never doubted myself I just kept continuously pushing myself as I'm still doing. And I even see myself getting better and better almost each and everyday. What were some of those major hurtles you overcame to see yourself get better and better? Well, I have a lot of encouragement from everyone at the hospital I was at and from my family and stuff. You were treated at JFK Johnson? I was yes. And even, even though they were helping me so much I had a down side to what I was going through and everything. But then I was like, these people are trying their best. So it's exactly if I said, if they gave up on me, me giving up on myself, so I had to like get in my brain and force myself not to ever give up and keep pushing myself and help myself just as good if not better then everyone else that was helping me. He's talking about the support and the faith really that the medical team had for him on his behalf and the way that they encouraged him. Is that pretty typical in the way you treat..."